Burns v. Anderson

Burns (plaintiff) sued Anderson (defendant) in federal court for a personal injury from a car accident, seeking about $1,026 in medical expenses and lost wages plus $60,000 for pain and suffering from a broken thumb; Burns had returned to hard-labor work within a month of the accident and reported no pain at all by the end of July, roughly two months later. With the diversity jurisdictional minimum then set at $10,000, the district court reviewed the record and dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, finding as a matter of law the claim couldn't reach that threshold. Burns appealed.